healthy mediterranean diet meal plan #8

Eggs are amazing little things. They come in their own packaging, stay fresh for a pretty long time (more about that later), are packed with healthy nutrients (more about that later too), and are (usually) a budget-friendly protein that can be unapologetically served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

A perfect example of just how well-suited an egg can be to a healthy diet? It’s today’s featured recipe in today’s menu of the day. The not-so-humble frittata.

Let me explain.

I think of a frittata as nothing less than a quick way to pile lots of vegetables onto the plate. The eggs are the canvas in your kitchen work of art, the fillings are the paint.

Do you have leftover roasted veggies in the fridge? Do you have fresh veggies or cheeses you just picked up at the market because they spoke to you but you don’t know what to do with them? Do you have cans and cans of artichoke hearts and roasted bell peppers you were going to add to the blender for hummus but never got around to it ? Yes officer, that’s me, guilty as charged.

A frittata is the easy answer to all those questions.

But before I get into the simple details of how to make this dish the start of a very healthy day eating the Mediterranean way, here are those egg fundamentals worth knowing if you’re learning to follow the Mediterranean diet.

1. The Mediterranean guidelines suggest that up to 4 eggs per week can be part of a healthy balanced diet.

2. A good source of high-quality protein, eggs provide all nine essential amino acids and contain antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which may help protect against age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

3. Research proves that the dietary cholesterol in eggs is NOT absorbed by the body, as previously thought. The yolk, however, does have saturated fat which can be a contributing factor to high blood cholesterol. This is the reason that the 4-egg limit is a Mediterranean diet guideline suggestion.

4. If never refrigerated (as is the case here in Spain and in much of Europe), you don’t have to refrigerate eggs. But once you do, keep them in the fridge until you use them up within 3-5 weeks.

5. There are two easy ways to determine how fresh your egg is. Either put it in a pot of water and see if it floats. If it does, it’s old. Or crack the egg and look at the white. If it firmly holds around the egg, it’s fresh. If it’s thin and spreads away from the yolk, it’s older. The yolk should sit up, nice and proud, above the white.

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Now that we’ve gotten those burning questions out of the way, let’s get on to the frittata and the rest of today’s menu, starting with how to create the (breakfast) frittata of your dreams. After all, that’s what you’re waiting for…

Whatever you’re planning to blend together to make it your personal best, get it ready in advance. Sauté those artichokes, warm up those peppers, and whisk the eggs (with the little additions spelled out in the recipe) into a frothy blend.

Once it’s set up just a bit, add any other topper ingredients you’re inviting to the party, like these little squares of feta cheese and move it into the oven.

Fifteen minutes (give or take) later, it’s ready to plate and enjoy, but not before you remember to add a few finishing touches like fresh herbs and crispy onion bits.

But this is only the start to your healthy day. The full menu will walk you from breakfast to lunch to dinner and snacks in between. And you’ll finish the day one more step to your future healthy self!

As always, you’ll find a few of these recipes in the menu PDF besides the one I promised you (mostly because I just can’t help myself). When I can, I’ll reach into the archive and include them so that you don’t have to go hunting around. You’ll also find a few tips for ways to stretch this menu into a meal plan that will cover you for a few days.

So pull up a chair, grab a cup or a glass and join me in my Mediterranean kitchen while we work our way from one flavor-packed meal to another.

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